Sloane Maymon of Branford, Connecticut, had good reason to lose weight: At the age of 45 her father had a massive heart attack and underwent quadruple bypass surgery, and her mother also suffered from heart disease. This family history caused concern for her own heart health, which left Sloane not wanting to follow in her parents’ footsteps.
Though weight didn’t become an issue until later in life, Sloane’s struggles with eating had seemingly always been present. “I’ve never had a healthy relationship with food. Even as a child and young adult I misused food and was never taught the value of nutrition.”
Shortly after getting married at the age of 25, Sloane starting gaining a few pounds here and there. After her first child at the age of 29, she found found it difficult to lose the baby weight. “I assumed it was normal now that I was a mom to carry a few extra pounds. With each passing year and then another baby, I just kept putting on more and more weight.”
After putting her health on the back burner for years, Sloane eventually reached her heaviest weight in October 2024. “I’ll never forget the day the scale topped out at an all-time high of 200 pounds. At 5-feet 5-inches tall, that was not OK,” she said. “The truth was staring me in the eye and I could no longer deny it.”
In addition to feeling sluggish, Sloane also felt she was missing out on life, always the mom on the sidelines waving and and clapping instead of joining in the fun. “Because I was overweight and was being just a spectator of my own life, not living it, I was setting an example to my children that this was OK – and it wasn’t. We all deserved more – it was time for change.”
The very next day Sloane started Jenny Craig. While she was expecting to starve and deprive herself, the first month proved to be a life-changing experience. With the help of her Jenny Craig consultant, Sloane was not only able to eat healthier, but also get to the root of her unhealthy relationship with food.
In addition to picking up new, healthy eating habits, Sloane began walking with a friend through her neighborhood every week to stay active. At first they went slowly, and later they picked up the pace and the distance and eventually added weights.
“I considered it ‘me time’ and made the time for it in my day,” she said. “I slowly worked up to jogging and I use my local YMCA now to really mix it up with swimming, elliptical, treadmill, and the exercise ball. Now it’s such a part of who I am I couldn’t imagine not having exercise in my life.”
These days at the age of 37, Sloane is no longer the mom on the sidelines. She’s the mom who plays tag with her kids in the park, and chases them around the bases when they hit a home run in the backyard. And she loves knowing she’s setting a positive and healthy example for her family.
Sloane surprised herself recently by surpassing her original goal weight of 150 pounds, and now weighs a slim 139 pounds! Her current ambition is to get more toned by stepping up her exercise routine. If she reaches her goal, she plans to rock a bathing suit this summer and look fabulous for a family vacation in May. Good luck, Sloane!
